Science at Home: Underwater Fireworks

Have you ever heard the saying ‘oil and water don’t mix’? Well, today Lahiru and Malinthi are going to demonstrate that this is absolutely true – and sometimes, very beautiful to look at. I love this experiment, and the way the different coloured food dyes start off making an ugly brown mess in the oil before separating out like upside-down fireworks!

Dr Lahiru Gangoda is a cancer researcher and a member of Team WEHI. Her research is on finding better ways to treat skin cancer. Don’t forget wear your sun screen! You can read more about Lahiru here.

Malinthi is in grade 6. She loves science and looking after the environment. She is the Science captain and the Green-house vice-captain at her school. Malinthi is also part of the space-wattle team at her school. Her school will be receiving some Golden Wattle seeds (Australia’s national floral emblem) that has been on board the International Space station for the last 6 months. The space-wattle team will plant and looks after these seeds that has spent time in space.

*Science is great fun! But please, always check with an adult before you start your experiment!*

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You will need:

• A tall clear glass of water
• A small glass of oil
• Food colouring in several colours
• A spoon or fork for stirring!

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Citizen Science: Lending Science a Helping Hand

Have you ever heard of Citizen Science? It’s when members of the general public – you, for example! – become part of the grand project of better understanding our world. While science is about learning and making discoveries and hopefully using them to make the world a better place, you can’t do science without data.

Collecting data can be about doing experiments and seeing what the results are. But for some projects, particularly the ones that aim to understand our environment, or the effects of climate change, or the habits and habitats of our native animals, collecting data is about making observations. Looking at things. Listening to things. Writing down what you notice.

‘Citizen Science’, by Frits Ahlefeldt. Used with permission.

Sometimes, we have a lot of data, but not enough people to look at it – perhaps we have a audio recorder set up in a particular area, listening for bird noises, but we need some more pairs of ears to listen to the recordings and mark where and when the noises are being made. Or perhaps there are camera traps set up to track wildlife in a particular area – but we need some more pairs of eyes to look at the photos and sort out the bandicoots from the housecats.

Sometimes, we don’t have the data yet, and we need some more pairs of hands to help us collect it. Perhaps we are tracking the movement of koalas, and need people to take photos of any koalas they see on their daily walks. Or maybe we want to look at water purity, and we need people to take photos of the rivers and seas and creeks near them, taking particular note of the colour of the water and what sorts of plants grow in it or beside it.

And sometimes, we have the data, but it’s old and fragile and in need of people to transcribe it or to photograph it and digitise it.

There are so many ways you can help real scientists make important discoveries, from your home or from you backyard or on your lockdown walks. To celebrate National Science Week, we thought we are sharing some of our favourites.

Science at Home: Drinking Candle

This is a very dramatic experiment that shows how differences in air pressure can create a vacuum. It’s super fun to watch, and very easy to try at home.

Dr Lahiru Gangoda is a cancer researcher and a member of Team WEHI. Her research is on finding better ways to treat skin cancer. Don’t forget wear your sun screen! You can read more about Lahiru here.

Malinthi is in grade 6. She loves science and looking after the environment. She is the Science captain and the Green-house vice-captain at her school. Malinthi is also part of the space-wattle team at her school. Her school will be receiving some Golden Wattle seeds (Australia’s national floral emblem) that has been on board the International Space station for the last 6 months. The space-wattle team will plant and looks after these seeds that has spent time in space.

*Science is great fun! But please, always check with an adult before you start your experiment!*

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You will need:

• A white bowl
• A birthday candle
• Water
• Food colouring
• A tall, clear glass or vase (with a top narrow enough to rest on the bottom of the bowl)

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Science at Home: Multicoloured Flowers

This is a slow experiment, but the results are really beautiful! It shows you how plants take up water through their system of veins. We recommend setting up the experiment in the morning and coming back to observe it every few hours during the day.

We are going to give you several versions on this experiment, ranging from very easy to a bit more challenging to set up – so you can decide how much time you want to spend on this. But the variations on these experiments is endless – take a few days, have some fun, and create your own multicoloured bouquets!

Catherine McLean is the captain of Team WEHI. She is not a scientist, but she coordinates the Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division at WEHI. Everyone in the Division knows this experiment really well now, because she had variations on it running in her office for about three weeks back in 2019…

*Science is great fun! But please, always check with an adult before you start your experiment*

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Science at Home: Balloon Rocket

This is a cool experiment that demonstrates Newton’s Third Law of Motion: for every action there is an equal (in size) and opposite (in direction) reaction.

Dr Lahiru Gangoda is a cancer researcher and a member of Team WEHI. Her research is on finding better ways to treat skin cancer. Don’t forget wear your sun screen! You can read more about Lahiru here.

*Science is great fun! But please, always check with an adult before you start your experiment*

Science at Home: Milk Flower

This is a lovely and colourful experiment that shows how soap works! It is brought to you by Lahiru and Malinthi.

Dr Lahiru Gangoda is a cancer researcher and a member of Team WEHI. Her research is on finding better ways to treat skin cancer. Don’t forget wear your sun screen! You can read more about Lahiru here.

Malinthi is in grade 5. She loves science and looking after the environment. She is an environmental leader as her school and this year she participated in the Science Victoria’s Science Talent Search “Deep Blue: innovations for the future of our oceans” and NATA Young Scientist of the Year competition on Food Safety. She also loves dogs, dancing (ballet, tap, jazz) and playing music (piano, trombone and guitar).

*Science is great fun! But please, always check with an adult before you start your experiment*

Science at home: Combs, Butterflies, and Electricity

Happy New Year! Today, we are presenting two experiments that introduce the concept of static electricity. Both of these experiments are suitable for toddlers or quite small children!

The first experiment is brought to you by Dr Lahiru Gangoda, and is a very quick and simple experiment that just requires a comb, some paper, and your own hair! If you are in the mood for some quick and easy science, this is the one for you!

Dr Lahiru Gangoda is a cancer researcher and a member of Team WEHI. Her research is on finding better ways to treat skin cancer. Don’t forget wear your sun screen! You can read more about Lahiru here.

The second version of this experiment is brought to you by Dr Charis Teh and her daughter Talya, and takes a little bit longer, because it combines science with art to make a beautiful fluttering butterfly! So if you have a bit more time and are in the mood for a bit of craft project, maybe give this one a go.

Dr Charis Teh is a cancer researcher. Her research aims to identify the ‘kill switch’ that triggers cell suicide in cancers. She has been relaying with Team WEHI since 2018. In her free time, she is often found dancing to “Let It Go” with her three-year old daughter, Talya. She hopes to inspire many young girls, like her daughter, to pursue STEAM disciplines and change the world. Here, she shares one of the many little craft/experiments that she does with Talya in the weekends.

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Science at Home: Anti-Gravity Water

This is a quick and fun experiment about water and surface tension. It is brought to you by Lahiru and Malinthi.

Dr Lahiru Gangoda is a cancer researcher and a member of Team WEHI. Her research is on finding better ways to treat skin cancer. Don’t forget wear your sun screen! You can read more about Lahiru here.

Malinthi is in grade 5. She loves science and looking after the environment. She is an environmental leader as her school and this year she participated in the Science Victoria’s Science Talent Search “Deep Blue: innovations for the future of our oceans” and NATA Young Scientist of the Year competition on Food Safety. She also loves dogs, dancing (ballet, tap, jazz) and playing music (piano, trombone and guitar).

*Science is great fun! But please, always check with an adult before you start your experiment*

Science at Home: Ice Cube Necklace

This is a very beautiful experiment that shows how the melting temperature of water changes when you add salt. It is brought to you by Lahiru and Malinthi.

Dr Lahiru Gangoda is a cancer researcher and a member of Team WEHI. Her research is on finding better ways to treat skin cancer. Don’t forget wear your sun screen! You can read more about Lahiru here.

Malinthi is in grade 5. She loves science and looking after the environment. She is an environmental leader as her school and this year she participated in the Science Victoria’s Science Talent Search “Deep Blue: innovations for the future of our oceans” and NATA Young Scientist of the Year competition on Food Safety. She also loves dogs, dancing (ballet, tap, jazz) and playing music (piano, trombone and guitar).

*Science is great fun! But please, always check with an adult before you start your experiment*

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You will need:

• several ice cubes
• a piece of string
• salt

Science at Home: Cloud in a Jar

This is a very cool experiment (it even uses ice cubes! See what I did there?) that shows you how clouds form. It is brought to you by Lahiru.

Dr Lahiru Gangoda is a cancer researcher and a member of Team WEHI. Her research is on finding better ways to treat skin cancer. Don’t forget wear your sun screen!

*Science is great fun! But please, always check with an adult before you start your experiment*

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